Showing posts with label recipe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recipe. Show all posts

[Recipe] Dark Chocolate Espresso Mousse

Rey Lasano 10:40:00 AM
You know one of those days when you wake up and ask yourself, "What the heck am I doing with my life?", believe me those kind of days could turn out to be either a very inspiring day or a very depressing one depend on what you choose to do about it.

A week ago, I woke up feeling crappy -- it's a combo result of a lot of things. One of my best friend who has put up with me for the last 6 years of my life and practically live through all the crazy things during those years simply texted me stating she knew exactly what I'm feeling (I told her I think I need to disappear for sometime. Clear signs of introvert side kicking-in, only no body would believe me about that), and told me to just "escape".

So I did. I escaped.

My "escape" usually take form in one of these two things:

1. Do physical exercise, most likely running until I am more or less numb. Take a good long bath after that and sleep. Then wake up feeling confused why did I abuse my legs three hours earlier.
2. Cook or bake something, feed everyone, then feel better.

This time, I opted for number two and after wandering in the kitchen and with a little recipe hunt over the internet, I came across a fairly simple and delicious recipe involving the essential ingredients for happiness: chocolates (lots of them) and for sure, coffee.


Dark Chocolate Espresso Mousse
recipe from the amazing blog of Heather Hands, with slight adjustments

Just a little reminder before you proceed. This recipe uses raw egg whites to create the mousse texture. Some people are dangerously allergic to this, especially infant and little children. Please be careful when serving.

Ingredients
150 gr dark chocolate, finely chopped
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp good quality strong espresso
3 tbsp white granulated sugar
4 egg yolks
4 egg whites, room temperature
120 ml heavy cream, cold

Garnish
Cocoa powder, grated chocolate, chocolate stick, whipped cream etc


Melt the chocolate with au bain marie technique: simply put barely simmering water in a pan, put another pan on top of the water and melt the chocolate there. You can add the 2 tbsp water here if you want (although I found it unnecessary to do so). Stir the chocolate constantly until smooth.


Beat in the egg yolks into the melted chocolate and whip over low heat for a few minutes until smooth.

Remove from the heat and stir in the espresso. Make sure it blended well with the chocolate mix, otherwise the espresso will stick to the bottom of the mix, and you don't want to do that, because it will ruin the whole dark chocolate-espresso idea. Transfer the mix into a large bowl and set aside.

Now, we'll be concentrating with our egg whites. Use a mixer with whisk attachment. On medium speed, whip the egg whites until they've reached soft peak. Increase the speed to high and slowly add the sugar one tbsp at a time, continue to whip until stiff peaks have formed. Fold the egg whites into the chocolate, blend well.


Hint: soft peaks are rounded peaks that fold over when the beaters are lifted upside don. Te stiff peaks will hold their shape as the beaters are lifted, but are still moist and glossy.

Rinse and dry your mixer bowl. Stir the cocoa powder into the cream and add it to the bowl. Whip the cream to soft peak stage on medium speed. Increase to high and continue to whip to stiff peaks. Be very careful not to over whip. If you do, the fat and liquid will start to separate and large chunks will form. You can't use it. Fold the whipped cream into the chocolate and egg whites.

Scoop the mousse into small serving bowls. I love to experiment with different kind of serving bowls. Coffee cup, wine glass, ramekin -- it is up to you. Try some different serving bowls and choose the one you think is the most suitable with your mousse, and your mood. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for several hours (I think 3 hours will do) before serving.


Garnish the top with grated chocolate, whipped cream, cocoa powder, chocolate stick to your liking. My personal favorite is to grab my favorite chocolate bar, cut them in small chunks and pour the chunks on top of the mousse. Enjoy!


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Kitchen's Note: Frittata and Muffin: hell yeah gimme those!

Rey Lasano 10:13:00 PM
I believe that one of awesome's definition is when you have enough time to make healthy Potatoes and Veggie Frittata for grams and gramps, and then bake the famous Nutella Muffin for dessert.
This is, people, is awesome.

I mean, i finally got the free time, which is super rare, and was able to use it with something... um.. productive. Actually, i think it's probably have something more than mere "free time". See, i tend to bake cakes and cook when i feel not good, sad, or angry. I entered the kitchen and shut all the negative emotion and pray that God would turn it into something good.
Thing is, i cook better when i'm angry than when i feel okay.

 Weird. Hahahahaha... :D

 So then, I found the recipe for Frittata here and it turns out to be pretty pleasing. Pleasing your taste bud, i mean. I decided to share it with you guys (and girls. *giggle*) because it is an easy recipe and... delicious. And, it's real healthy. My grandparents have these issues with their health so if i ever want them to eat my cookings without contribute to worsen their health status, i have to cook something healthy and delicious. Since my knowledge of delicious food nearly have no correlation with healthy, i was a bit lost. But after i did some research here and there i found an easy one, and with some serious change, i present the Frittata! Mwahahahahhaa.

Trust me, it's not a toast. Even if it looks like it. xD xD
See, Ms. Ida, whose recipe i borrowed cleverly put the Frittata's ingredients inside a muffin plate so it turns out beautifully. I used a pyrex plate because i though i didnt have any muffin liner............ and realized later that i actuall have it, hidden in mum's cupboard.
xD

 Well, it's still delicious, so here's the recipe if you want to try it out.

Potato and Veggie Frittata


You will need:

- 2 carrots, peel and slice them thin
(dua buah wortel, kupas dan potong tipis-tipis)
- 2 potatoes, peel and cut them in medium dice pieces
(2 buah kentang, kupas dan potong-potong dalam ukuran dadu sedang)
- 1/2 broccoli, cut them small
(1/2 brokoli, potong kecil-kecil)
- 1 onion
(1 buah bawang bombay)
- paprika and tomatoes
(paprika dan tomat)
- pepper and salt
(lada dan garam)
- 3-4 eggs
(3-4 butir telur)
- 100ml milk, or you can substitute it with fresh cream
(100 ml susu, atau bisa diganti dengan fresh cream)
- some oil
(minyak)
- parmesan cheese and quick-melt type of cheese
(keju parmesan dan keju yang tipenya quick-melt)

How to:
1. Boil the broccoli with salted boiling water. Dont do it too long, or it will be too soft.
Boil the potatoes with salted water too, just until they are soft enough.
(Rebus brokoli dengan air mendidih yang sudah diberi garam. Jangan terlalu lama supaya brokolinya tidak terlalu lembek
Rebus kentang dengan air garam juga, sampai mereka lunak.)

2. Sauté onion (you'll know you have sautéed it by the super nice smell), add the carrots and season with salt and pepper.
(Tumis bawang bombay hingga harum, masukkan wortel lalu beri garam dan lada. Aduk rata.)

3. In another bowl, beat egg together with milk (that will result in super fluffy and super delicious egg, highly reccomended when you're making omelets!!), add salt and pepper. You can also add powdered paprika if you like. Mix well.
(Dalam mangkuk lainnya, campur telur dan susu (ini akan membuat tekstur telur nya sangat fluffy dan jadi lebih enak! Super super direkomendasikan kalau kalian membuat omelet! yum.), tambahkan garam dan lada. Kalau suka, bisa tambahkan paprika bubuk. Aduk rata.

4. If you have muffin liner, use it! Hahahaha.. If not, you can use pyrex plate. Arrange the veggies and the potatoes, then pour in the egg mixture. You can garnish the top with tomatoes and fresh paprika, then finish it with quick-melt cheese.
(Kalau punya cetakan muffin, pakailah benda itu, saudara-saudari! Hahahaha.. kalo nggak punya, pkai pyrex aja. Oke, susun sayuran dan kentang di wadah yang digunakan, lalu sirami dengan campuran telur tadi. Lalu kalian bisa menghias atasnya dengan tomat dan paprika segar, lalu selesaikan dengan taburan keju quick-melt).

5. Bake in the oven until the egg mixture and the potatoes are well cooked. It should take you less than 1 hour. Halfway of the cooking open up the oven and garnish the top of the Frittata with parmesan cheese.
(Panggang ddlam oven sampai campuran telur dan juga kentangnya matang. Seharusnya waktu memanggang tidak lebih dari satu jam. Kalau sudah hampir matang, buka oven dan kamu bisa menaburi keju parmesan di atas Frittata.)

That's all! Your fresh, healthy Potatoe and Veggie Frittata is ready to be served. :)

Yaay for the Frittata!! As I said before, i didnt realize that me, (or my mum), actually have the muffin plate. I thought i would feel better than stupid if i use the muffin liner to cook something light, easy and delicious.
after (again) searching the internet here and there, finally found the recipe i would want  to try!! Papaararaaaaa............

 *drum rolls*
the NUTELLA MUFFIN!!!!
*clap hands*

 Muffin. Nutella. I dont have anything more to say, so here's the recipe! I took it from here, with a little modification (added the chocochips, just cant get enough of chocolate. im a choco junkie, i clearly am. *proud face*)

NUTELLA MUFFIN


 You will need:

 140 gr butter, at temperature room
(140 gr butter, pada suhu ruang)
1/2 cup white sugar (100 gr)
(1.2 cup gula pasir) (100 gr)
3 eggs
(3 butir telur)
1/2 tsp powdered vanilla
(1.2 sdt vanilla bubuk)
1 1/2 cup flour (192 gr)
(1 1/2 cup tepung) (192 gr)
1/4 tsp salt
(1/4 sdt garam)
2 tsp baking powder
(2 sdt baking powder)
Nutella

 How-to:

 1. Pre heat oven (170 C)
(Panaskan oven pada suhu 170C)

 2. Prepare the muffin liner and the muffin paper, will do with 9 or 12 type of liner
(Siapkan loyang muffin dan kertasnya, loyang berisi 9 atau 12 akan sangat cukup)

 3. Mix butter and sugar for aproximately 2 min, add eggs one by one and keep mixing untill they're blended well, then add the vanilla powder. At this point, dont worry if your batter doesnt look smooth enough.
(kocok butter dan gula selama kurang lebih 2 menit, masukkan telur satu per satu dan kocok hingga tercampur rata, lalu masukkan vanilla. Jangan terlalu khawatir bila adonan nya tampak tidak halus)

 4. Stir in the flour, salt and baking powder until the batter is uniform and, this is important, until there are no flour remains.
(Masukkan tepung, garam dan baking powder, lalu kocok hingga semuanya tercampur rata dan, bagian yang paling penting, pastikan tidak ada butiran tepung yang masih kasar tersisa)

 5. Turn off the mixer then add your choco chips, mix with a large spoon, like a wooden spoon.
(Matikan mixer dan masukkan choco chips, lalu aduk dengan sendok besar atau sendok kayu)

 6. Fill the muffin liner until 3/4 full, then top each cake with 1 1/2 tsp Nutella.
(Isi muffin paper yang sudah diletakkan dalam muffin liner hingga 3/4 penuh, lalu tambahkan 1 1/2 sdt Nutella)

 7. This is the FUN part. Swirl the Nutella with a toothpick, make sure you fold a bit the batter up over the Nutella. Garnish them with some more choco chips.
(Ini bagian yang paling SERU. Dengan sebuah tusuk gigi  aduk Nutella perlahan dengan gerakan "swirl", pastikan kalian "melipat" sedikit adonan ke atas Nutella. Hiasi lagi bagian atasnya dengan chocochips)

 8. Bake for 20 min, or until they're cooked.
(Panggang selama 20 menit, atau hingga muffin matang)

 9. Allow to cool completely, and there you go, your very own Nutella Muffin..!!
(Biarkan muffin dingin, dan Nutella Muffin mu sudah siap!!)

 Okaaay, so that will cover he Frittata and the Muffin's recipe. If you're not sure how many grams there is in a cup and vice versa, go to this site, they have a quick and complete conversion, very handy when you came across recipes with various measurement. 

 p.s. They got even more delicious when you share and eat them with people you love. And the feeling after you see them smile after tasting your cookings, it's an incredibly joyful feeling! So go ahead and try the recipes, then share them.

 I'll see you all around. :D
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